The swearing in of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the governors of thirty-six states, and legislators elect, before the election appeals tribunal had reached their verdict on allegations of electoral fraud was a violation of due process, says CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights. Holding a NEPAD meeting in Nigeria on the eve of the controversial inauguration could also be interpreted as a cynical attempt to use the presence of heads of state to endorse the ceremony, said the organisation. CREDO Coordinator Rotimi Sankore criticised the election timetable and elections tribunal process. “It is not about whether General Obasanjo or General Buhari, or any of the governorship candidates are the true winners or losers of the elections. It is about democratic principles and creating confidence in the electoral and judicial system. The right to political participation means that complainants and defendants should be confident of securing justice. The chances of this are reduced if officials assume office before the election tribunals have reached a verdict.”

A joint body of NGO’s has called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to reconsider his stand on the New Partnership For Africa's Development (NEPAD). The body described the establishment of NEPAD as an endorsement of World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) policies.

As public concern over the current bill on government procurement in the Ghanaian parliament gathers momentum, it has emerged that an earlier instrument prepared by Ghanaian procurement experts which would ensure genuine accountability while promoting domestic enterprises was jettisoned by the World Bank. In the place of this, World Bank officials almost single-handedly crafted the current bill, which the experts say sacrifices accountability for the primary purpose of granting foreign companies unparalled access to government procurement in Ghana, and to the detriment of domestic businesses.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that 12.5 million Ethiopians are at risk of starving, as there is still a substantial shortfall to the agency's $90 million appeal for emergency operations in that country.

International NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Wednesday that signs of malnutrition had been observed among an estimated 41,000 refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) who have fled to Chad since November 2002.

Leaders of the G8 are meeting in Evian, France from 1-3 June 2003. A counter summit - Summit for another World - will take place between 29-31 May in Annemasse and Geneva. Priority will be given to the opinions and suggestions coming from Southern actors, say the organisers. The issues to be discussed include: NEPAD - A opportunity for sustainable development in Africa?; Trade and development - A relationship on trial; Debt - An instrument of domination over Southern countries?; and Human Rights Arms transfers and human rights.
Visit http://www.tni.org/trade/docs/g8-june2003.htm for more information. Below are a selection of links related to the G8 and Africa.
Links:
* Human rights - No trade off!
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/g82003-index-eng
* The G8 and access to medicines
http://www.msf.org/content/page.cfm?articleid=311298AD-34D0-4B39-BE9F57…
* G8 Summit should back Chirac’s plan http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,963566,00.html
* Did the G8 drop the debt?
http://www.jubileeresearch.org/analysis/reports/G8final.pdf
* NEPAD – Holding the G8 accountable
http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000288/index.php
* G8 warned over development consequences of crisis in Zimbabwe
http://www.lchr.org/defenders/hrd_zimbabwe/hrd_zim_9.htm
* Peacekeeping: G8 to Meet Heads of Various African Governments
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305280272.html
* Statement against the G8
http://www.g8-evian2003.org/
* G8 Homepage
http://www.g8.fr/evian/english/home.html
* Will G-8 Move to Heal Scar On Global Conscience?
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305270534.html

African leaders gathered here Wednesday to prepare their stall ahead of next month's meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial powers, with two summits here on development and regional security. More than 20 heads of state and government were expected in the Nigerian capital for a meeting on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

There has been a shortage of consultation time in Malawi's PRSP process, the government has dominated the process and been reluctant to share information, participation has been selective and structural and institutional linkages have been inadequate. This is according to a Christian Aid study examining claims from donors that the PRSP policy and planning processes have been opened up to extensive participation by ordinary people and civil society groups.

George Bush's thinly veiled accusation last week that Europe is perpetuating starvation in Africa by subsidising agricultural exports and by objecting to genetically modified food is both wrong and offensive. Africa is being starved of income and its people go hungry because the rich world spends little on aid and has done little to help the continent help itself by easing trade barriers. There is much talk about lifting Africa out of poverty, but not much in the way of action from either Brussels or Washington.

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A number of technological trends, if extrapolated over the next two to three decades, provide a vision of a ubiquitous, networked computing and communication emerging as the core technological construct of a global information society. Even though poor regions may lag behind with respect to access to these technologies at present, it will be simply a question of time for them to catch up in terms of basic access and to begin to benefit more fully from these developments, says this paper.

This paper from the Overseas Development Institute examines whether and how wildlife is a source of rural growth and development in East Africa, and whether its potential could be tapped more fully. It focuses particularly on the wildlife tourism industry, pulling together issues from a range of work and comparisons from Southern Africa, rather than presenting conclusive results based on detailed research specific to this topic. The paper reports that although wildlife-based tourism is a thriving industry in some well-established tourism destinations in East Africa, evidence suggests that the wider potential of wildlife enterprise in other rural areas is not being harnessed to the full.

The papers contained in this issue were first presented at a conference on 'Electoral Perspectives and the Process of Democratisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo', organised by the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) in conjunction with La Ligue des Electeurs. The object of the Conference was to initiate debate within Congolese civil society and political parties relating to elections. The papers have been updated to include changes that have taken place in specific countries since the Conference was held.

I thank you very much for sending me your publication: you are really doing a good job. I would like to express my opinion on the DRC crisis - I have read many books relating to the history and politics of the DRC. Since 1960, the DRC has been the victim of aggression from so-called “super-powers”, including Belgium, the UK and the USA. All have contributed to looting and spoiling the wealth of the DRC, and created and enhanced ethnic division so as to rule. Remember that the UN contributed to the killing of democratically elected DRC Leaders, such as Patrice Lumumba, Maurice M'polo and Joseph Okito.

Besides, we have observed that when it comes to the crises in the DRC, the UN seems to minimize the facts just to satisfy the so-called “international community”. Today, MONUC is in Congo while millions of Congolese are dying. What is the role of MONUC? Let us say: when somebody is fighting with his neighbour and starts crying for help, basically anyone who is passing and concerned by peace, without even asking what is happening, will first separate them and then try to find out the reason for the fight.

I would like to ask you to publish this message so any Congolese shall know that the UN is just an institution which has been made by superpowers to control especially Black Africa, and loot the African continent by keeping it in under-development and eternal darkness.

Millions of Rwandans turned out Monday to vote on a new constitution intended to usher in a stable, democratic society nearly a decade after genocide devastated the tiny, central African nation. But critics argue that the charter, which is expected to pass, will consolidate the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front's hold on power.

Legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, which are scheduled for July 6, may not take place because of the political and economic crisis in the former Portuguese colony. “Unless the president decides otherwise, the commission is committed to conducting the legislative elections in July,” says Filomeno Lobo de Pina, the Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Commission. Guinea-Bissau's economy is in dire crisis, with public sector workers on strike.

The organisation CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights has written to the interim chairman of the African Union (AU) Amara Essy voicing concern over the poor rights record of a significant number of AU member countries. Pointing out that 26 May marked the second anniversary of the AU, CREDO said the constitutive Act of the AU placed certain obligations on the union and member states with regards to human rights.